Love Potions and Lies
by Heather Giesbrecht
Summary: Why had Loki started to hate the Midgardians ? Because of her, because of Merope and that potion. Merope couldn't understand why Loki was so angry - she'd only done what would make him feel better. Merope/Loki. Two-shot, complete.
1. Potion

**Potion**

Merope had never expected such a beautiful man, a God, to notice her. Even if she'd first thought him Thomas Riddle because of the magic he'd used. Loki had eventually introduced his true self to her and shown her his magic as proof that he could be trusted. Father liked Loki far better than her infatuation Tom Riddle because you couldn't get purer blood than a God's compared to a meagre muggle's. Loki had fascinated her with his tales of strange creatures and beautiful landscapes, of the gigantic snakes of the place called Asgard where he lived. How could she not love him when even Father approved of him ?

It'd been a rainy day when she'd obtained the love potion, when Loki had come to the shack upset about something. Of course, she'd invited him in and he'd sat down with Father and Morfin. She'd made the tea quickly and, as she didn't know how much it would take, she'd put nearly half the bottle of potion in. How giddy she'd been to realize that it had worked. In the morning, she expected him to be happy, but Loki had said she was a monster, a rapist and that he was never coming back, ever. She hadn't understood nor would she ever understand why Loki had gotten so angry with her. Only later did she figure out that he'd probably cursed her to fail at everything that happened afterward.

Because of that, Father had gotten angry, shouted at her only, instead of beating her in case of a child. She had managed to convince him that they could use the rest of the potion on Tom Riddle and make him marry her. That evening Morfin had broken into the Riddle Mansion and kidnapped Tom. Of course, when Morfin had brought him in Tom had screamed at them that she was mad to think he'd marry her as he thrashed about. Father had forced the leftover potion-spiked tea down Tom's throat. A few days later, she and Tom had gotten married. Not three months passed before Tom gained a seeming immunity to the potion and managed to escape back into town.

When the baby had arrived a few more months later, she'd named him Thomas Marvolo Riddle. She'd named Tom after his supposed father and also her own father. Mostly it was because as far as she knew Loki only had one name. She'd abandoned her little riddle in that orphanage, hoping that someone else would take care of Tom. While she never saw him again, she knew her son was going to be one of the most powerful wizards ever.


	2. Godhood

**Godhood**

Loki had always been fascinated by the tales that Mother and Father would tell about the snake-speakers. When he'd asked Heimdall if there were any of the people left the watchman had replied that there were indeed some left. He'd asked where they lived and Heimdall had refused the information and told him not to ask again. That, of course, had only peaked his interest further, he'd snuck down to Midgard using his secret pathway - willing it to take him where the snake-speakers were. With all the grand stories he'd been told it'd been a disappointment to realize that they were a clan of incredibly interbred ignoramuses that lived in a tiny, dark, secluded hut.

The only way he'd been able to get close to them was through the daughter, Merope. By the Norns, but he'd never seen such an ugly adolescent in all his thousand-and-some year life. It'd only taken a day to realize the girl was in love with one Tom Riddle. So, being the exemplary God of Mischief that he was, he'd distracted the boy and shapeshifted into his form. Really, it'd been almost ridiculously easy to convince the whole clan that he was magical as well, one mere fistful of his emerald fire to be exact. Morfin had actually been idiotic enough to try and touch him, whilst Marvolo had proclaimed them long lost relations.

It was more pity than anything which kept him returning to talk with and see Merope. He should have known better than to go see the Gaunts after having that argument with Thor. Except, he'd been too angry to think straight and wanted somewhere to go that he didn't have to see his family's influence everywhere. He'd never considered that Merope would be able to get a love potion because he hadn't even known they existed until the day after. Nor had even he being in most situations quite articulate known how to express fully his humiliation and anger. If Merope had been an Asgardian she never would have drugged him, thus had started his hatred for Midgardians. Midgardians who were too weak to have proper relationships, to have morals or honour. Needless to say, they utterly disgusted him.

He would have happily ignored the existence of Merope forever after, but for the fact that Heimdall told him Merope had taken Tom Riddle captive. As a form of vengeance, he'd devised a spell to negate the effects of the love potion. How he'd loved watching Tom Riddle escape and declare the whole Gaunt family utterly mad. Some months later, again, Heimdall came to him this time to tell him that he had a newly born son. Well, he was not going to let a family of cowardly Midgardians raise his blood. His son would know the Princeship and Godhood he was partially born from or he would neither learn of nor appreciate the Nine Realms.


End file.
